The Glycemic Index Diet for Dummies (16 page)

Don't forget that some treats, such as chips and even some types of candy, have a lower glycemic index but are still high in calories. For example, Peanut M&M's are low-glycemic, but one package costs you 243 calories — that's a lot for a small treat.

Beware of fad diets and messages that simplify the glycemic index diet too much. Just because you're eating low-glycemic foods doesn't mean you can forget all you know about good nutrition. A low-glycemic diet should be looked at as a new way to make the best choices for carbohydrate-containing foods — not as a stand-alone solution for weight loss. When it comes to weight loss, calories still matter.

Keeping portion sizes under control

Even if you're swapping your favorite high-glycemic foods for healthier low-glycemic options, if you regularly eat inappropriate portion sizes, you won't see success. I can't tell you how many times I hear people saying, "As long as it's low-glycemic, you can eat as much as you want." That's simply not the case.

Eating inappropriate portion sizes hurts you in two ways:

Low-glycemic foods can become high-glycemic foods if you eat too large of a serving.
The low-glycemic status of many foods is dependent on you consuming the right portion size, meaning if you eat more than that amount, your glycemic load will add up. So if you eat two servings of pasta rather than one, you wind up with a higher glycemic load for that whole meal. (I explain glycemic load in detail in Chapter 4.)

More food equals more calories.
Adding more calories with large portion sizes will defeat your efforts at weight loss quickly. Whether or not your calories are coming primarily from low-glycemic foods, eating too may of them raises your insulin levels and causes you to gain weight.

Portion sizes are probably one of the biggest culprits in weight gain. People are eating larger portion sizes than ever these days, a fact that correlates directly to the rate of weight gain in many countries.

For some guidance on the appropriate portion sizes for several different foods, flip to Chapter 9.

Eating More of the Right Foods to Lose More Weight

If you want to keep your body working at peak performance to ensure an increased metabolism, improved health, and success with long-term weight loss, then you need to make the foods you eat work for you. In other words, aim to get the most nutritional bang for each bite. The following sections help you pick the foods that can add balance, vitamins, and minerals to your diet.

Choosing lots of fruits and vegetables

Two food groups are generally safe to eat in greater amounts when you want to lose weight: vegetables and fruits. These foods (particularly vegetables) contain lower calorie levels and lower glycemic loads than most other foods. In fact, most vegetables aren't even measured for their glycemic index/load because the amount of carbohydrates in them is so low (approximately 5 grams on average). As for the calorie factor, a whole cup of raw vegetables or a half cup of cooked vegetables is, on average, a mere 25 calories. That's a lot of food for such a small calorie amount! On the fruit side of things, most fruits tend to have a low glycemic load, and one small piece averages out to 60 calories. Sure, that's not as low as the veggies, but it's still lower than many other food groups.

When you want to lose weight, you can choose to either have tiny portion sizes of high-glycemic foods or pump up the volume with fruits and vegetables and still maintain a lower calorie level. Consider the following calorie information:

1 cup of steamed broccoli = 50 calories

1 cup of fruit = 60 calories

1 cup of pasta = 160 calories

1 cup of ice cream = 340 calories

As you can see, for the same volume of food, you can consume far fewer calories by eating more fruits and vegetables. The beauty is that most of the foods in these two food groups end up on the low-glycemic food list! (See for yourself in Appendix A.)

The following examples illustrate how you can cut the calorie level of your dinner and dessert with some simple, low-glycemic food swaps:

Dinner

Grilled garlic chicken served over 1 1/2 cups of pasta = 345 calories

Grilled garlic chicken served over 1/2 cup of pasta with 1 cup of broccoli, red pepper, and snow peas = 235 calories

Total savings: 110 calories

Dessert

1 cup of ice cream with chocolate sauce = 440 calories

1/2 cup of ice cream with 1/2 cup of fresh strawberries = 230 calories

Total savings: 210 calories

By incorporating more low-glycemic fruits and veggies, you get the same volume of food on your plate but with fewer calories, a lower glycemic load, more fiber, and more nutrients. Not bad for a simple switch!

You can also use vegetables and fruits to increase your overall volume of food for the calorie level. For example, you can have a large salad with 3 cups of mixed greens plus 1 cup of assorted veggies (including tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers) with grilled chicken and light vinaigrette dressing for around 250 calories. Compare this meal to the grilled chicken over 1 1/2 cups of pasta for 345 calories. You get around 4 1/2 cups of food for the salad meal compared to around 2 cups of food for the pasta and chicken dish. Eating more vegetables and fruits at a meal means you can have more food for fewer calories. That's a great plan if you ask me!

Including healthy fats and protein

Of course, you can't pursue weight loss and health without taking a look at all the foods you consume, including your protein and fat sources. These are two of the nutrients that make up the Big Three of calorie sources (carbohydrates being #3). Not only that but they also help you feel full and give you long-term energy.

Choosing lean-protein foods is essential for weight loss and general health. Some examples of lean-protein sources are skinless chicken breasts, lean cuts of beef and pork, egg whites, fish and shellfish, and soy foods. You also need to eat fat. Believe it or not, fat is healthy when it's the right kind and when you consume it in moderate amounts. Look for unsaturated fat sources, specifically oils, seeds, nuts, nut butters, olives, and avocados. Do your best to avoid saturated and trans fats such as butter, cream, lard, and hydrogenated oils.